Indonesia to barter coffee, CPO for Russian jet fighters

BINTANGNEWS.com –Indonesian
state-owned trading company PT Perusahaan Perdagangan and Russian state-owned
company Rostec have signed a memorandum of understanding to barter

Indonesian
agricultural commodities for Russian jet fighters.

“The barter deal, which is under the
supervision of the two governments, will involve 11 Sukhoi SU-35 jet fighters
and several commodities like coffee, palm oil, tea and others,” Trade Minister
Enggartiasto “Enggar” Lukita said in a statement on Friday.

Enggar, who is on an official visit to Russia
from Aug. 3 to 5, expressed his hope that the agreement would be followed by
other agreements in other sectors.

Russia currently faces economic sanctions imposed by the
United States and the European Union. In response, Russia has limited imports
from the US and EU and is looking to other countries for commodity imports.

“It is an opportunity we have to seize. The
great potential for economic cooperation during the embargo and counter embargo
goes beyond trade and investment issues. We also have the opportunity to
enhance cooperation in tourism, student exchange, energy, technology, aviation,
etc.,” Enggar added.

Trade between Indonesia and Russia in 2016
amounted to US$2.11 billion – with Indonesia posting a surplus of $411 million
– compared to $1.9 billion in 2015. Indonesian non-oil exports to Russia grew
by 8.50 percent in the last five years to a value of $1.3 billion in 2016,
while Indonesian exports from January to May this year grew by 54.43 percent to
$1.12 billion.***